Central Plaza (Dublin)

Central Plaza, also known as the Central Bank of Ireland Building for its former tenant, is an office building on Dame Street in Temple Bar, Dublin. It was the headquarters of the Central Bank of Ireland from 1979 to 2017.[1]

Central Plaza
Former namesCentral Bank of Ireland Building
General information
StatusUnder renovation
TypeOffice building
Architectural styleBrutalist
Town or cityDublin
CountryIreland
Current tenantsWeWork
Completed1978
OwnerHines, Peterson Group
Height150 feet (46 m)
Technical details
Floor count8
Design and construction
ArchitectSam Stephenson (Stephenson Gibney & Associates)
Main contractorJohn Sisk & Co.

It is Ireland's only 'suspended building', with its 8 floors hanging from central concrete cores. Each floor was built on the ground and then raised into place. It was controversial for being out of scale with its neighbourhood and for being built 30 feet (9.1 m) taller than approved.

As of 2020, the building is undergoing renovations including the addition of a "rooftop venue" and observation deck.

History

The Central Bank of Ireland originally proposed a new headquarters tower on Dame Street in Temple Bar in 1967.[2] The proposal was immediately opposed as it would entail demolition of the site's 18th-century Commercial Buildings.[3] During construction in 1974, the building was discovered to have reached a height of 150 feet (46 m), exceeding 120 feet approved by Dublin Corporation, and it was suggested that the building would have to rebuilt using traditional methods, allowing the hangers to be removed.[4] Construction was halted for a year.[5] Rather than reduce the building's height so late in construction, the Central Bank appealed to Minister for Local Government James Tully who approved the height increase.[3] The project, which was carried out by Sisk Group,[6] was completed in 1978,[2] and included a replica of the Commercial Buildings in a different location on the site.[7]

The plaza occupied by the Occupy Dame Street movement in 2011–2012.[8]

The Central Bank announced in 2012 that it would move out of the building, having purchased a site on North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands that was originally planned to be the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank.[9][10] The Central Bank sold the Dame Street Tower to Hines and Peterson Group for €67 million in 2016 and moved from the tower in 2017.[11]

The tower, its plaza, and public art were proposed to be added to the list of protected structures to protect the significant architecture,[12] but this was deferred by Dublin City Council as it could impede the redevelopment proposed by the new owners.[13] The owners committed that the redevelopment would maintain the building's architectural integrity.[13]

In 2017, renovation plans were announced under the name Central Plaza, including redevelopment of the surrounding plaza, office space, and the addition of a two-story "rooftop venue" and viewing area.[14] The renovation is being conducted by John Paul Construction, who completed a similar renovation at Miesian Plaza, the Bank of Ireland's former headquarters.[15] In 2018, coworking provider WeWork agreed to lease all eight floors of the Central Plaza tower.[16]

Architecture
External support detail

The design and construction of the Central Bank building were very unique, being the only suspended structure in Ireland, and one of perhaps 20 in the world.[13] The building is based around two central concrete cores, with floorspace suspended around them by twelve sets of external supports. During construction, the concrete cores were built first, and each floor was built at ground level and then raised into place.[5] The rooftop supports were originally exposed on the roof, giving the building an even more distinctive profile, but were later contained in copper cladding due to issues with rainwater.[17]

The Central Bank of Ireland towering above Temple Bar, in 2004

The building is in the Brutalist style and was criticized when constructed. In 2017, the Irish Times reported retrospectively:[3]

In September 1972 The Irish Times carried an extract from the English magazine Architects Journal, which published a photograph of a model of the proposed bank (which at that time had not been made available in Ireland). The journal described the proposed building as “an exercise in how to do the greatest urban damage with only eight stories”. It berated the “aggressively distinct and monstrously oversized” development which it described as “brutalism gone mad”.

The building has since become better appreciated. In the 2017 application for protected status (which was ultimately unsuccessful[13]), Dublin Concillor Mannix Flynn summarized:[18]

This iconic building and plaza has won the hearts of many Dubliners and deserves its position and place in the record of protected structures. It forms part of the legacy of the late architect Sam Stephenson who also designed the iconic Civic Offices. We have a duty and a responsibility to modern architecture and here is a prime example and a well deserving one at that.

Art
The sculpture Crann an Oir (tree of gold) by Éamonn O'Doherty

The plaza contained the sculpture Crann an Oir (tree of gold) by Derry sculptor Éamonn O'Doherty,[19] which became a symbol of the Central Bank, Irish Banking, and the Celtic Tiger boom and bust.[20] The sculpture, also known as the "Golden Ball", has been included in mock-ups of the Central Plaza redevelopment.[21]

The Central Bank's lobby contained Abstract Beaded Pattern, a large artwork by Patrick Scott.[22] It was put into storage prior to the Bank's move from the premises in 2017.[22]

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See also
  • The Qube, a building of similar construction in Vancouver

References
  1. "Our Dockland Campus". Central Bank of Ireland. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  2. "75 Years of Change: The Story of the Central Bank of Ireland" (PDF). Central Bank of Ireland. 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  3. Griffin, Dan (5 May 2017). "Central Bank: 'aggressively distinct, monstrously oversized'". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. "Central Bank in Breach of Planning Laws (1974)". RTÉ Archives. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  5. Cullinan, Emma. Lyons, Madeleine (ed.). "Building a Business: 150 Years of the Sisk Group" (PDF). Associated Editions Ltd. on behalf of the SISK Group. p. 76. ISBN 9781906429096.
  6. "The old Central Bank roof is being altered - but in the 1980s they had to knock 30 feet off the top". The Journal. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  7. "Commercial Buildings, College Green, Central Bank Plaza, Dublin 2, Dublin City". Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  8. Tinsley, Orla (17 March 2012). "The rise and fall of Occupy Dame Street". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  9. "Central Bank buys Anglo site for E7m". Business World. Ireland. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  10. McDonald, Frank (30 January 2014). "New Central Bank to rise from Anglo ashes". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  11. Brennan, Cianan (17 January 2017). "Central Bank completes sale of its Dublin HQ for €67 million". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  12. Fegan, Joyce (27 April 2015). "'Golden ball' at Central Bank may be added to protected structures list". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  13. Kelly, Olivia (12 May 2017). "Plan shelved to protect Central Bank building". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  14. Ryan, Órla (9 August 2017). "This is what the new Central Plaza in Dublin could look like". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  15. Fearon, Alana (7 July 2017). "The old Central Bank on Dame Street is getting a makeover". Dublin Live. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  16. Mulligan, John (18 June 2018). "WeWork snaps up Central Bank space". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  17. "1980 – Central Bank of Ireland, Dame Street, Dublin". Archiseek. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  18. Fallon, Paraic. Addition of: Former Central Bank [...] the Record of Protected Structures (Proposal) (PDF) (Report). Property, Enterprise & Economic Development Department, Dublin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  19. Harkin, Greg (16 February 2015). "'No decision on plans to move Central Bank golden ball'". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  20. Rowe, Simon (1 August 2015). "State of the art: how bank crash left us with huge cultural cache". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  21. "This is what the old Central Bank building could look like in years to come". Fora. Ireland. 9 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  22. "Abstract Beaded Pattern & Central Bank of Ireland". Valerie Connor Ltd. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.

Further reading

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